memory- Bahrick 1975 duration LTM

What is the main type of coding used in long-term memory?

Most memories in LTM are stored using a semantic code (based on meaning)

What did Bahrick (1975) investigate?

Bahrick investigated the duration of long-term memory using 392 American university graduates

How did Bahrick test memory 15 and 48 years after graduation?

Participants were asked to recall as many names of their ex-classmates as possible (free recall)

Then they were given recognition tests:

Shown pictures and asked to name them

Or shown names and asked to match them to a photo

What were the results of Bahrick's study after 15 years?

Recall: about 60% of names remembered

Recognition: about 90% accuracy

What were the results of Bahrick's study after 48 years?

Recall: accuracy dropped to about 30%

Recognition: still around 80% accuracy

What conclusions can be drawn from Bahrick's study?

Long-term memory has a very long duration

We are better at recognition than free recall when retrieving long-term memories

What is a strength of Bahrick's study?

He asked participants to recall information about their own lives, unlike most lab studies that use artificial stimuli (e.g., word lists)

Because the stimuli were meaningful and relevant, the results have high ecological validity and are more likely to generalise to everyday memory use

What is a weakness of Bahrick's study?

Bahrick could not control how long participants spent with their ex-classmates or how much they liked them

These are extraneous variables that may have affected how well participants remembered names